Playwright and raconteur Oscar Wilde embarks on another adventure as he sets sail for America in the 1880s on a roller coaster of a lecture tour. But the adventure doesn't truly begin until Oscar boards an ocean liner headed back across the Atlantic and joins a motley crew led by French impresario Edmond La Grange. As Oscar becomes entangled with the La Grange acting dynasty, he suspects that all is not as it seems. What begins with a curious death at sea soon escalates to a series of increasingly macabre tragedies once the troupe arrives in Paris to perform Hamlet. A strange air of indifference surrounds these seemingly random events, inciting Oscar to dig deeper, aided by his friends Robert Sherard and the divine Sarah Bernhardt. What he discovers is a horrifying secret -- one that may bring him closer to his own last chapter than anyone could have imagined.

As intelligent as it is beguiling, this third installment in the richly historical mystery series is sure to captivate and entertain.

Gyles Brandreth is a prominent BBC broadcaster, theatre producer, novelist, and biographer. He has written bestselling biographies of Britains royal family and an acclaimed diary of his years as a member of Parliament. Visit OscarWildeMurderMysteries.net.

Unrated Critic Reviews for Oscar Wilde and the Dead Man's Smile

Kirkus Reviews

With the theatrical triumph of Lady Windermere’s Fan and his infatuation with Lord Alfred “Bosie” Douglas in full flower, Oscar Wilde possesses a joie de vivre that’s palpable, according to his confidant and biographer Robert Sherard, whose plummy voice tells the story.

Kirkus Reviews

After a rhapsodic 1877 letter from Oscar Wilde to his devoted mother concerning the wonders of Rome, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle sets out to narrate the tale in chief, beginning 15 years later at a Homburg spa.

Kirkus Reviews

British aristocracy must have a remarkable amount of free time, judging from the output of author, TV personality and former Member of Parliament Brandreth (Oscar Wilde and the Dead Man’s Smile, 2009, etc.).

BC Books

Through the books I've read–The Candlelight Murders, Dead Man’s Smile, and now the fourth book, The Nest of Vipers–Oscar’s powers of deduction go from strength to strength as does Brandreth’s prowess as a writer of mystery fiction.

Reviewing the Evidence

Mysterious Reviews

Review: Oscar Wilde's good friend and scribe, journalist Robert Sherard, presents all the materials surrounding the mysterious death of the Duchess of Albemarle following a party at their Grosvenor Square home in 1890, in Oscar Wilde and the Vampire Murders, the fourth mystery in this series by G...

Mysterious Reviews

Mysterious Reviews

Review: Good friend, colleague, and poet Robert Sherard chronicles a new adventure for Oscar Wilde that spans over a year in his life in Oscar Wilde and the Dead Man's Smile, the third mystery in this series by Gyles Brandreth.